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LAKELAND, Fla. – Saint Leo women's basketball fought back in the second half on Wednesday night against the No. 4 Florida Southern at Jenkins Field House. The Lions dropped a tough road contest 72-54 in the first Sunshine State Conference game of the year.

The Lions used a strong second half to close the gap with Florida Southern as the Lions outscored the Mocs 42-37 to cut the deficit to 18 at the final horn. A 19-18 score in favor of the Lions in the third followed by a 23-19 score in favor of the Lions once again.

1Q | The Lions and Mocs remained scoreless for the first two minutes before Florida Southern would go on a 7-0 run with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter. Chelsy Springs stole the ball and then drove down the court to put Saint Leo on the board with 4:38 to go. Florida Southern would extend their lead to 17-5 after the first quarter as the Lions saw Abby Peterson and Madelin Lang jump into the scoring column. | FSC 17-5

2Q | Florida Southern would continue pushing their lead up in the second quarter after scoring 18 points compared to Saint Leo's seven. Springs would hit two jumpers mixed with Nikira Hooks' jumper at the 4:24 mark to put Lions in double-digits. Lang would add the final point in the quarter for Saint Leo as the Mocs would go into the break with a 23 point cushion. | FSC 35-12

3Q | Saint Leo would come out of the locker and gained ground on the Mocs, outscoring Florida Southern, 11-6, in the first four minutes. The Lions would use a fast pace throughout the entirety of the third quarter outscoring the Mocs 19-18 in the period. | FSC 53-31.

4Q | The fast pace for the Lions kept the Mocs on their heels as Saint Leo used fast breaks to their advantage cutting the Florida Southern lead to 15 with 4:17 to play. FSC would push their lead back out but not before Saint Leo came crawling back to cut the lead to 15 again with 1:53 to play. Saint Leo outscored Florida Southern 23-19 in the fourth behind Springs seven points and Brierley's five. | FSC 74-52

The Lions finished the night on 41.1-percent (23-56) shooting from the field.

Florida Southern used hot shooting in the first half to propel themselves up at the end of the game after shooting 46.7-percent (7-15) in the first quarter, 47.1-percent (8-17) in the second quarter followed by 47.1 in the third but came up a tad colder in the fourth going on 35.3-percent. The Mocs saw five players score in double-figures led by Anissa Toumi who had 13. Anja Fuchs-Robetin and Jensen Blassage added in 12 where Gianna Vastola and Camille Giardina recorded 10.

Coach's Quote
"While disappointed with our first half scoring, I couldn't have asked for more in the second half from this group. We went toe-to-toe with their starters and, at times, outplayed them. They are a very solid program and coached very well. Madelin Lang was impressive and exciting to watch on both ends. Her energy, defense and attacking kept us alive at times. I was pleased with the way we ran the floor in the second half. Our energy and emotion is a big part of how we play and fight in every possession. Chelsy Springs showed some great character, playing through pain and without practicing the last couple of days. Nikira and Abby also were a great part of a few second-half runs we made. I am certain we will be ok and ready for Saturday against Florida Memorial. We must assist the ball more and get off to a better start to make that happen."

Up Next Saint Leo return to non-conference games when they return home to host Florida Memorial on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women's basketball be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.